Maruti Suzuki Ignis Engine & Performance

Maruti Suzuki Ignis Engine & Performance

Maruthi Suzuki Ignis Overview

The Maruti Suzuki Ignis is a revolutionary car by Maruti Standards trying to bring a fresh design philosophy in the bare-bones hatchback segment in India. Aimed at the millennials, the Ignis was first showcased as the Suzuki iM-4 concept at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and later unveiled at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.The Ignis competes against the entry-level B-segment hatches to start with and which include the Ford Figo, Tata Bolt, Hyundai Grand i10 and the Mahindra KUV100. The top trims are expensive and you can opt for compact sedans like the Dzire, Amaze or the Xcent which offer you much more space and similar equipment. For information on contact details of Maruthi car dealers in Bangalore

Maruthi Suzuki Ignis Look

The biggest USP of the Maruti Ignis is its distinct styling that immediately catches attention on the road. The crossover silhouette makes it a tall boy while the modern design language separates its identity from the regular lot of Marutis. The front profile is clean yet attractive with the wide grille extending towards the headlamps. The LED DRLs are wrapped around the projector headlamps that illuminate the road very well, there are no halogen lights. The bumper looks sporty integrating the fog lamps in chrome housing.

The side profile is dominated by the pronounced wheel arches with cladding and contrasting black alloys. Furthermore, the straight bonnet along with a high roofline and flat rear profile makes it look like a pseudo SUV. The C-Pillar gets a very distinct kink with stylish indents that might remind you of the Adidas logo, it looks sporty. Now the rear profile of the Ignis has got a “love it or hate it” design. Though looks are subjective but we like the classic touches of the squared out tail lights and the heavily cladded rear bumper. The Ignis also comes with dual tone colours like the Vitara Brezza. Also, you can customise the roof with different wraps.

Maruthi Suzuki Ignis Comfort

The interior layout is also in keeping with the exterior design. Maruti has cleverly used black and off-white interiors to enhance the sense of space in the cabin. That said, the lower portion of the dash and the door pads are prone to getting soiled too easily and it’ll be quite a task to keep these clean. The plastic quality too in these areas feels like its from the budget end of the parts bin.

The Ignis AMT is available in the Delta and Zeta variants only. The latter is what you see here and it loses out on goodies such as LED headlamps, DRLs, a touchscreen infotainment system, climate control and the cool toggle switches on the centre console that you get in the top-end Alpha variant. I also have a gripe with the music system in the Zeta variant. The sound output is average; the speakers seem like they are from a car in the ’90s. An aftermarket system, hence, is highly recommended.

Cabin space, as Rahul rightly pointed, is adequate to seat four adults only, so let the ‘based on the Baleno platform’ sales pitch not fool you into believing you’ll have space equal to that car. What you do get, however is generous knee and head room at the rear. The front seats are pretty comfortable and the generous bolstering offers great support, which I think is great for a reason that I’ll come to later.

Maruthi Suzuki Ignis Performance

Driving the car will leave you more than impressed. Maruti-Suzuki has gone the tried and tested way with a choice of a 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol and 1.3-litre DDiS diesel motors on offer. These engines have served a number of Maruti cars for years now and have proven their reliability, efficiency and performance.

What’s more is that AMT options are available on both engines. The petrol engine uses variable valve timing, making 82bhp and 113Nm of torque. Characteristically, this engine is peaky in nature and starts to sing post 4,000rpm where progress is rapid with an affable Suzuki engine note. At idle, this engine is so silent and refined you’d have to put in some effort to hear it run. The refinement remains on the move as there were no vibrations to speak of even as speeds built up. We only drove the manual variant and it shifts positively with solid clicks from gear to gear.

The diesel engine has been well known for its frugality and adequate power delivery. In the Ignis, this engine develops 75bhp and 190Nm, compensating the deficit in horsepower over the petrol variant. The diesel definitely felt faster and more responsive at lower revs. Turbo-lag is controlled and once over 2,000rpm, it keeps pulling effortlessly in each gear. Maruti claims to have tweaked the AMT transmission to shift quicker and it showed through as up-shifts were more timely and accurate to throttle inputs than the AMT-equipped Dzire diesel.

Maruthi Suzuki Ignis Rideing

The suspension in the Ignis is set up to offer a firm ride. This causes you to feel bumps and potholes at low speeds; however, ride quality does improve as speeds rise. That said, driving over sharp potholes causes the suspension to protest with a loud thud which is quite disconcerting.

After driving over a fairly bad stretch of tarmac, I was left wondering why Maruti chose such a firm set-up and the answer to that was revealed as soon as I encountered a set of corners. The Ignis is quite enjoyable around a bend; however, there is a hint of body roll that you need to get past. The front end has ample of grip to pull the car into a corner and there’s only a hint of understeer when you are at the limit.

Turn in is quick and precise for the car’s dimensions and mid corner bumps do not unsettle the car. The manual mode also makes it involving to drive with the rallycar-like shift pattern further enhancing the experience.What robs the Ignis petrol AMT of earning the tag of a driver’s car though is the disconnected steering. While it’s light and easy in the city, it does not weigh up as much as you’d want with increase in speed. Better feedback in corners would have certainly upped the fun quotient that this car offers otherwise .

Maruthi Suzuki Ignis Safety

It is one aspect where Maruti has truly excelled. Maruti Ignis specifications include dual front airbags, seatbelts with pre-tensioner and force limiter (PTFL), and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) as standard fitments. In addition, ISOFIX Anchorage – a child seat restraint system – is also offered as a standard feature with the entire Ignis variant lineup.

Yes, the Ignis is a dressed up hatch, and it has shortcomings. Its styling is head-turning but polarising, and it looks a bit awkward when viewed from the rear. Its interiors, although funky, could do with a bit more finesse. However, the Ignis is very well equipped and spacious. The way it rides and drives makes it feel sophisticated and friendly to use too. The option of well-engineered automatic transmissions widens the Ignis’ repertoire further. The Ignis may seem pricey, but bear in mind it packs ABS, EBD, airbags and crash safety measures engineered into its chassis. All in all, the Ignis packs attitude and appeal, outside and inside, to drive and own, and is properly sensible too. The Ignis is a hatchback, and a statement too.